The Love Boat
by Utopia222
Summary: Brennan and Booth are forced to go undercover as newlyweds on a cruise ship in order to catch a killer.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

Seeley Booth strode into Dr Temperance Brennan's office at the Jeffersonian without even a thought of knocking. 

"Bones, What are you doing?"

Dr Brennan was sitting at her desk, her head rested on her arm. She turned to look at him and replied in a defeated tone.

"My editor wants the first chapter of my new book by the end of the week and I haven't even come up with a story yet. Why are you here?"

"We have a case". He was practically bouncing with joy as he shifted his weight back and forth.

Brennan visibly perked up at this. She sat up straighter and swivelled her chair to face him, giving him her full attention.

"I thought that might cheer you up" he said as he walked towards her to hand her the file to take a look at.

"Are you having the remains shipped to the Jeffersonian"

He smiled at her sudden enthusiasm. "I brought them with me. I know how much you like bones in the morning."

"Well lets get started." She said, already rising from her chair and striding off in the direction of the platform.

Booth followed at a slightly more leisurely pace. Swiping her card Brennan quickly climbed the stairs and moved towards the remains which Zack had placed on the table and was now examining.

"What do you see Zack?"

"The first set of remains appear to be that of a male, 30-35, medium build, Caucasian features, with obvious trauma to the back of the skull. I haven't had a chance to do a full exam of the other two sets of remains but they appear to be of the same age range and of similar features. Where were they found?"

Booth, who had now joined Brennan and Zack on the platform answered, "The first guy was found on a cruise ship, inside a steam pipe during routine maintenance"

Zack looked momentarily confused, "What about the other two. It looks like he's been there a while, but the other remains look even older."

"Two maintenance workers were doing repairs inside the steam pipe when they discovered this guy. His wedding ring gave us the name of Keith Mathers. You guys are here to confirm that but we can be pretty sure its him." Booth paused to let Brennan and Zack look over the bones.

"How was he identified by his wedding ring?" Brennan spoke while her attention remained focused on the skull.

"It had 'Keith & Maria forever' and their wedding date engraved on it." Booth replied.

"And so the wife identified it?" Brennan interrupted.  
"The body of Maria Mathers was found in the honeymoon suite of the Mercury Princess Cruise Ship almost 2 years ago. Story at the time was that the husband had killed her while on their honeymoon and just slipped off the boat while it was in port somewhere."

Zach looked up at Booth and said "I guess they thought wrong."

Brennan looked up at Zach sharply. She didn't like to make jokes about such a serious matter. Booth meanwhile continued.

"Their luggage was all still in the room but the police didn't think that was odd because it was covered in blood and he would have had a hard time getting it off the boat without it being noticed."

"How did the wife die?" Booth, Brennan and Zack all turned at the sound of Cam's voice. They hadn't noticed that she and Angela had stepped onto the Platform moments before.

Booth returned his attention to Brennan and replied, "Her throat was cut in the bedroom of the suite."

"I'm still not seeing where the other two sets of remains figure into this" Zack was looking a little confused and very afraid to be addressing the FBI agent.

"Well when I landed the case I had the locals pull up anything else they could find involving deaths on cruise ships and they found two other incidents where young women on their honeymoon's were found dead in their rooms and the husbands had simply vanished. That got me thinking that maybe if this guy hadn't left the ship that maybe hubby numbers two and three hadn't either. I had them do a search of the steam pipes and maintenance ducts on the other boats and 'voila' we now have two more dead husbands."

"So if we have a serial killer on our hands why didn't anyone pick up on this before." Cam spoke up trying to understand why the deaths of the three women had not been linked earlier.

"Well it was different boats and the police had a clear suspect in each case, the husband, so they didn't bother to dig any deeper. Also the killings were all two years apart, always around Valentine's Day. I guess the killer really has a thing about the day. All the files say the same thing, they were the happiest couple on the ship, everyone on board remembered them and all three won the best couple prize."

"The best couple prize?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah its this thing they do on cruise ships, everyone votes and then one night at dinner the captain awards the prizes, best couple, cutest kid, that sort of thing. You know, it's just like at high school." A wistful smile erupted on Angela's face as she remembered. "You know I was voted most likely to marry a rock star"

Cam and Booth laughed. Cam continued "I was voted most likely to become president."

"Yeah, for me it was most likely to save the world." Booth reminisced. "What about you Bones?"

"I don't remember" She looked edgy and clearly wanted to change the topic of conversation.

"Aw, come on you have to remember, what was it?" He flashed her his best charm smile and puppy dog pleading eyes.

"Fine, it was most likely to become a famous singer and most likely to cure cancer. I got two for some reason." She looked away nervously.

A look of disbelief crossed the faces of everyone except Angela who simply smiled. Booth looked the most shocked, "You can sing?"

Angela was almost giddy with pride. "Its how Bren and I met in college. We both were drunk at Karaoke night and started chatting. She is amazing."

Booth turned to look at Brennan, "How come you never told me you can sing?" He looked a little hurt that she hadn't told him about this part of her.

"I wasn't hiding it from you, it just never came up, and I'm not that good Angela was exaggerating." She seemed uncomfortable and returned her attention to the other remains.

"I was voted most likely to build a race of killer robots but I don't know why." Zach said to no-one in particular.

The others all turned to him when he said this but opted to let the remark pass.

Brennan keen to end the conversation and return to work looked up at Booth and said "I'm almost done with my preliminary exam. I'll have Hodgins take a look at the particulates and then when Zach is finished cleaning the bones I'll give the skulls to Angela to get a face. Most of the damage is to the back of the skulls so this shouldn't take to long. I'll call you when we can give a positive id on the three bodies."

"Oh no you don't it's Valentines Day on Thursday we have a boat to catch. There is a special Romance cruise for Valentines Day on the only Mercury cruise ship the killer hasn't hit and it's leaving tomorrow from Miami."

"Booth I cannot just drop everything to go sailing with you." Brennan mentally began a list of all the things she had to do this week.

Angela got a sly look in her eye. A Valentines Day Romance cruise, Booth and Brennan alone together, she simply HAD to get them on that boat, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. 

"You know, this would be the perfect case for you two to go undercover."

Booth looked suddenly nervous. "Angela, ah no, me and bones, undercover, no way, there's just no way."

Brennan misunderstood and thought Booth was implying she wasn't good enough to go undercover assignment with him and a stern, determined look crossed her face. 

"Why not, we went undercover in Vegas and that went fine. I think going undercover is an excellent idea. Unless you have a problem with me as your partner Booth?"

"No, no, I mean yes. I can't go undercover with you Bones." One look at her face told him this was the wrong answer. Truth be told he really couldn't think of anything better than taking an almost holiday with Bones on a 5 star cruise ship, but he wasn't so sure about pretending to be newlyweds. He paused then backtracked, 

"No you're right Angela, Bones' and I have to go undercover it's the only way." He turned and address Brennan again. "Our flight leaves tomorrow at 8.00am so i'll pick you up at 6.30am." 

He started to leave and then turned back to her and added almost as an afterthought,

"Maybe you should bring a ring." 

Then he strode off the platform and out of the lab.

"Ring?" she called after him. Booth didn't respond as he was already at the main doors out of the lab. For a moment Brennan looked confused and then she had a moment of realisation and her whole face flushed crimson. "He wants to go undercover as newlyweds, I thought he meant go on the ship as passengers or even as cruise staff. I can NOT pretend to be married to Booth. I don't even believe in marriage."

An embarrassed and shocked Temperance sank heavily onto one of the chairs on the platform. Angela ran over to her squealing in delight.

"Bren, I absolutely HAVE to take you shopping after work. You are going to need new clothes, a seriously hot bikini, and something for the evenings".

As Angela continued to verbally tick off the things she would need to buy for her friend the reality of what had just happened began to sink in for Temperance.

"I am going to be Booth's wife." 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, I don't own anything actually.

Chapter Two

Brennan wouldn't admit it, but she dressed with more care than usual the next day. She curled her hair and wore a red dress which Angela told her she looked good in. She had done everything she needed to do and her bags were ready by the door. When Booth finally knocked on the door just before half past six Brennan was making coffee.

She paused before opening the door to take a deep breath. When she opened it Booth was leaning casually against the frame, charm smile in full force.

"Morning Bones"

Brennan silently stood aside from the doorway to allow Booth in.

"Would you like some coffee, I was just going to have some"

Booth was looking at Brennan's large suitcase. "Yeah, I'd love some. This isn't like you Bones, you usually travel light"

"Oh, its Angela's. She took me shopping last night. I don't really know what's in there but she said I'd need all of it"

Booth liked this about Brennan, she was beautiful, but unlike the other beautiful women Booth had known she didn't seem to care about her appearance. Most women would have been dying to show off their new clothes on the trip, but Booth had the impression that Brennan would be happier wearing her lab coat.

Brennan walked over to Booth and held out a travel coffee mug for him. The coffee was made just the way he liked it.

"I suppose we should be going." Brennan said as she moved towards her suitcase.

"Don't worry I'll get that, why don't you get the door and I'll meet you downstairs." Booth grabbed the bag and left Brennan alone in the apartment.

Brennan thought about reminding him she could carry her own bag but let it pass. One of the reasons she liked Booth was that she knew when he helped her with things it was because he genuinely wanted to make life easier for her and not because he thought she was incapable of doing it for herself. He respected that she was a strong independent woman. A lot of the men she had known, particularly the ones she had worked with over the years, had treated her like a child and patronized her. This was probably the reason why she was so defensive about it now, that and the fact that she had learned to be self-reliant at an early age.

The drive to the airport passed in comfortable silence until they reached the airport parking lot. Booth turned off the car and turned to Brennan.

"From this point on we are happily in love, we just got married and this is our honeymoon. That means that you can't hit me if I try to hold your hand, and you can't tell anyone that you don't believe in marriage or that 'anthropologically speaking it's an antiquated ritual' or something. Any questions"

"But anthropologically speaking it IS an antiquated ritual."

One look at Booth's face told her to drop it because he was being serious. "Fine, So what's my name"

"I'm sorry?" She had once again confused him so she elaborated.

"If we're undercover I need a name"

"Bones, your a famous author now, we can't have people on the ship asking for your autograph when you're pretending to be someone else. You'll just have to be you, and I'll be me, but we just have to be married. It's believable that way." He gave her another charm smile. "After all, you did dedicate your book to me."

"As my friend." She stated defensively, hoping to wipe that smile of his face.

"Well its the best we can do under the circumstances. Cullen wasn't happy about me taking you on this assignment for that reason. One other thing, don't tell anyone I'm an FBI agent. If they ask I'll have to be honest, but I don't want it getting around the ship that there is an agent on board, it might spook the killer"

"Fine, and Booth"

"Yeah Bones"

"If I have to be stuck pretending to believe in this antiquated ritual, then I'm glad it's with you." She smiled at Booth, who positively beamed back at her. It was important to her that Booth understand she was grateful when he took her out into the field with him, especially when his boss didn't want him to. Booth, meanwhile, had started fumbling around in his pockets.

"Here, I brought this for you. I wasn't sure if you would remember, it's just something I had lying around from when I asked Rebecca." Booth then produced a small ring box which he opened to reveal a delicate diamond solitaire nestled between two smaller diamonds on a platinum band.

"You kept the ring"

Booth coloured, "Well actually I was just too embarrassed to take it back to the store. I didn't want them to know that she said no"

Brennan took the ring and slipped on. "I guess this means from now on we're married"

"I guess so Bones"

They exchanged nervous smiles and then exited the car.

At the check in counter they were greeted by an attractive blonde woman. Her smile grew when Booth approached and flashed her a quick charm smile. Booth handed over their details and bags.

"So is this trip business or pleasure?" The blonde again smiled at Booth flirtatiously.

"Business" Brennan replied at the same time that Booth said "Pleasure.

Booth turned to Brennan and gave her a look. She coloured and turned away to answer her phone.

"It's a bit of both." Booth quickly covered. Then in no mood to start a conversation with the woman he walked over to join Brennan who was just ending a call. She looked up at him,

"I know, it won't happen again." Brennan looked guilty enough about what she'd said so Booth didn't mention it further.

When the arrived Miami was warm and sunny. They exited the airport and got into a taxi. On the flight Brennan had worked on her book which was woefully behind schedule. She was hoping that while she was forced to be away from her lab she could get some work done. Although she took this assignment very seriously there wasn't much she could do other than act happy and in love.

When they got to the ship it was enormous, there were people everywhere but somehow the crowd parted around Booth, even without flashing his badge he exuded confidence, making it easy to navigate their way. While they waited in line to board the ship Booth took Brennan's hand and whispered in her ear,

"Here we go, are you ready"

Brennan just nodded. To everyone else they looked like any other couple whispering sweet nothings to one another.

They checked in and were led to their suite. When Brennan walked in she was amazed. It was beautiful. The downstairs had a lounge area with a small dining table and kitchen. A staircase curved gracefully up one wall to a mezzanine bedroom and bathroom upstairs. Booth walked in behind Brennan and smiled.

"Hey this isn't so bad." He said as he made his way over to the sofa and flopped into it. Picking up the remote he flipped on the television to a sports channel.

Brennan walked over to the dining table and set her laptop bag down on it. She opened it and immediately began setting it up.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Booth turned to face her a little shocked.

"I'm hoping to get some work done while we're here." She replied.

"But you can't work, we're on our honeymoon. I know you haven't been on a honeymoon before, and neither have I, but trust me, people do NOT work on their honeymoon Bones"

"I know they don't Booth." She said a little sharply because she thought he was implying she didn't know what a honeymoon was for. "They stay in their rooms alone and do, other things." She blushed when she said this even though she normally didn't feel uncomfortable talking about such things. "I just thought that since it's normal for a couple on their honeymoon to spend a lot of time in their room that I could get some work done." Almost as an afterthought she added. "It relaxes me"

"And what are the housekeeping staff going to think when they see your laptop set up and papers everywhere. It's like me ringing up and requesting a roll away bed"

"I'm sorry I didn't think about it like that. So what do you suggest we do then?" She stopped unpacking her computer and walked over to the sofa where Booth was.

Booth sat up straighter to give her room to sit. "Well i'm glad you asked Bones, because I have a plan"

Brennan's eyes narrowed at Booths teasing tone. Whatever his plan was she didn't think she was going to like it. "Ok Booth, what is it"

"Well, I did a bit of research into the victims to see if I could find any similarities and I found some things that should help us"

"What were they?" Brennan was mildly surprised that Booth had thought to do some research on the victims and she hadn't.

"Firstly, all three of the couples were about our age, very happy, in love, and newly married"

"I know all of that, how is that going to help us"

"Well the other thing they all had in common is that they all won the best couple prize on their cruise"

"So you think that might be how the killer chooses his victims. He waits until the happiest couple is chosen and then kills them"

"Yeah." Booth was smiling, obviously under the impression that his figuring out how the killer chooses his victim would impress Brennan.

"So all we have to do is get ourselves voted as the happiest couple." Brennan's mind was beginning to race through all the ideas she had about how they could do this.

"Yeah, there is just one problem Bones." Booth's smile faded.

Brennan's attention snapped back to her partner for the down side. "What's that Booth"

"This is a Romance cruise, and it's almost Valentine's Day"

"And...?" She still wasn't seeing the problem.

"There are going to be a LOT of happy couples on this ship, we're going to have a lot of competition"

Brennan frowned. "We have to win Booth, we can't put any other couples in danger, and we have to catch this killer."

She was suddenly very serious. Brennan didn't always show it but she often thought about the victims that there had been because she and Booth weren't fast enough at catching the killer. That was one of the reasons why she spent so much time at the lab.

"I was thinking the same thing." Booth's mood matched that of Brennan's. For the moment he forgot all about his plans for romancing Brennan in the sunshine and focused on why he was really here.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. 

Chapter Three

An hour later Booth and Brennan were headed to the main dining room for a late lunch. As they walked through the maze of hallways they continued to discuss the plan they had come up with in their room.

"OK Bones, so do you understand what we have to do."

"Yes, we are going to try to meet, and convince, as many people as possible that we are in love so they vote for us." She stopped walking and turned to face him. "But Booth, you know I'm not good with people. And why can't we just get the captain to announce us as the winners, you are FBI, surely you could pull some twine or something?"

"OK one, it's string bones, not twine. Second, you're not bad with people, you're just a little too smart around them, they don't get you. Just try to, you know, dumb it down a little, try not to use any anthropology speak while were here. And three, the killer might be a staff member and if the voting was rigged it might tip him off. We're just going to have to win this thing with a little old fashioned charm"

"I don't have charm Booth." Booth looked at Brennan incredulously.

They arrived at the dining room and were seated at a circular table with three other couples. The first couple, Devon and Kate, were a bit younger than Brennan and Booth, they were also on the cruise to celebrate their wedding.

When Brennan and Booth approached they were all over each other, whispering and giggling. They were exactly the kind of couple Brennan couldn't stand.

Devon and Kate looked up and enthusiastically welcomed them when Booth introduced himself and Brennan.

Kate turned to Brennan. "Oh my god, you're on your honeymoon too. Oh that's so great. We should totally hang out together. I hear they have all these great clubs and bars on board."

Brennan didn't know how to respond. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't want to spend any more time with the young woman than she had to, but she was trying to make friends.

Booth ended up answering for her. "We'd love to. In fact honey, why don't you and Kate go have some treatments at the spa today, my treat." She glared back at him in response.

"I don't think.." Brennan started to reject his offer.

Booth then leaned in and whispered, "These two could easily get voted happiest couple, I mean look at them, it would be a good idea to make friends with them, that way if the killer goes after them we can protect them."

Brennan winced at what she was about to do and then said to Kate, "Maybe we could get our hair done." She forced herself to smile.

Kate squealed with joy in a way that reminded Brennan of Angela. Then she started speaking rapidly to Devon so the others couldn't hear. Eventually they tore their eyes away from each other long enough to suggest that while the 'girls' got their hair done Devon and Booth should go to the sports bar together.

Booth seemed happy with the invitation which led to the two men having a long conversation about their favourite sports teams. Brennan sat back in her chair to cut herself off from the conversation and Kate.

"I can see you're going to have a fun afternoon." An elderly women sitting on the other side of her interrupted Brennan's thoughts. The woman had clearly been listening, and looked like she was enjoying Brennan's discomfit. The woman had meant it sarcastically and she had a playful smile on her face.

Brennan turned to face her. "Yes, facials and pedicures aren't really something I do at home." Brennan kept her voice low so Kate sitting on the other side of Booth wouldn't hear.

"I'm Iris, and this," indicating the quiet, diminutive man on her left, "is Lenny, my husband. We're here to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

Brennan liked this woman instantly, which was unusual for her, she felt that she had more in common with Iris, than the flighty and overexcited Kate, who was closer to her in age. Iris had sparkling blue eyes like her own, and she seemed like someone Brennan could talk to.

"I'm Temperance."

"Yes, the author, I've brought your new book with me to read on the ship. I recognised you from your photo."

Brennan just smiled, she never really knew what to say to fans.

"Well, I'm going to take Lenny back to our room for his nap and then I'm going to go lie by the pool. I've been waiting 50 years for this holiday and I'm going to enjoy the sunshine." Iris rose from the table and started to led Lenny away. "Try to enjoy yourself Temperance."

Iris and her husband clearly adored each other. The way they looked at each other as they made their way to the door, you would think they had only been married a week rather than 50 years.

After lunch the couples divided up, Booth and Devon went off to find the sports bar while Kate and Brennan left for the spa. The couples arranged to meet back at the restaurant for dinner in a few hours.

The time felt like torture for Brennan. Kate, who preferred to be called 'Katie', talked incessantly. She kept up a steady conversation about how happy she was, how much she was liking married life, and how they had to impress their men on the first official night of their honeymoon.

"You can't just wear anything tonight, you have to be a princess." Brennan recalled Katie saying. Brennan had never been a princess in her life and she wasn't exactly sure what Kate meant.

Brennan went along with it mostly because Booth was right, Katie was annoying but she didn't deserve to die.

The two woman had facials, manicures, and pedicures, then they were waxed, plucked and painted. Finally Katie was finished so she left to find Devon and get dressed for dinner.

"I'll see you at later, you look great by the way." Katie then whispered something to the hairdresser, gesturing in a swirling motion at the top of her head, before she departed with a wave.

Finally alone Brennan started to relax. She got some paper and a pen and started jotting down notes for her book while the hairdresser styled her hair. Eventually the hairdresser announced that she'd finished and Brennan looked up surprised. She had been so absorbed in her notes that she hadn't realised how much time had passed.

When she looked in the mirror she didn't recognise herself at first, her make up was much more glamorous than she would usually do it, and her hair had been swept up onto her head and pinned in an elegant style.

"I hope you have an amazing dress to wear with all of this, I don't want it to be wasted." The hairdresser was obviously proud of the transformation.

"I'm sure I'll find something, thank you." Brennan looked at her watch and realised she should have been at the restaurant by now. She didn't want Booth to be worried so she rushed back to her room, all the while hoping Angela had packed her something that she could wear..

She needn't have worried Angela had packed a beautiful emerald gown which was strapless and split dangerously high. Brennan vaguely remembered Angela trying it on her while she had been busy on the phone. She slipped it on, and the matching shoes, and was impressed by what she saw. Then she dashed out of the room towards the restaurant.

Meanwhile Booth, who was looking quite dashing in his tux, had been waiting with Devon at the restaurant for Brennan and Kate.

When Kate arrived at the table without Brennan he questioned her and found out that she'd left Brennan at the Salon over an hour ago. Worried that something had happened to her he quickly rose from the table and left the restaurant to search for her.

Booth decided to cut through the atrium to get to their room faster. The atrium was a large central space on the ship, very long and three storeys high. Several glass elevators were on each side and at the far end of the room a beautiful sweeping staircase rose up from the atrium to the floors above.

As most people were at dinner the normally busy atrium was relatively quiet. He swept quickly towards the staircase at the far end, when he was nearing it he looked up and froze.

Brennan was walking towards him at the top of the staircase, Booth thought that at that moment she looked more stunning than any woman he had ever known. She was softly backlit and her dress sparkled as it caught the light. When Brennan saw Booth she smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. 

Chapter Four

Brennan was walking towards him at the top of the staircase, Booth thought that at that moment she looked more stunning than any woman he had ever known. She was softly backlit and her dress sparkled as it caught the light. When Brennan saw Booth she smiled.

She slowly descended the stairs, lifting her dress so she didn't slip.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

"Temperance you….." Booth didn't know how to finish the sentence so he just stared at her, his mouth slightly agape.

"Thank you Booth, you too. Now lets eat, I'm starving." She strode off towards the dining room, after a moments hesitation Booth returned to his senses and fell into step beside her.

When they entered the main dining room a man was playing soft background music on the piano. Once Brennan and Booth had filled their plates they returned to their table where Katie was feeding Devon food with her fork.

Devon did a double take when Brennan reached the table, she looked quite different from when he had met her earlier. Katie realised she had lost Devon's attention and looked up.

"Oh my god, great dress." She added in a conspiratorial tone, "totally princess worthy."

Booth looked at Brennan and raised his eyebrows, silently questioning what Katie meant.

"Don't ask." She whispered in his ear. "It was a long afternoon."

Dinner turned out to be a rather enjoyable time for everyone. Word seemed to travel fast on the ship and many staff and passengers came over to congratulate the four newlyweds. A lot of complimentary champagne was consumed, as toasts were made to the happy couples.

Each time this happened Booth and Brennan were reminded how they were supposed to be acting like they were in love and so showed some physical affection to one another.

At first this was difficult and awkward, it started with light touches and hand holding, but as the night wore on, and the champagne bottles emptied, they forgot the awkwardness and were comfortable sitting closer. Booth draped his arm casually over Brennan's chair, and they started to spend a lot of time casting fleeting looks at one another.

The biggest test to their boundaries occurred when the ships photographer came to their table to take some photos. The first shots were of the couple sitting next to each other smiling, but then the photographer asked Booth to kiss Brennan. At first he was shocked, and tried to get out of it.

"What, you mean in front of everyone."

He glanced around the table, everyone was looking at him, questioning why he didn't want to kiss his new wife.

He knew when he took this assignment that he may have to kiss Brennan, but now the time was here, he was terrified.

He looked into Brennan's eyes searching for permission. When she smiled he knew that there was a good chance she wouldn't break every bone in his body.

He leant in and she closed her eyes. Their lips touched in a tender kiss. Booth pulled back an inch and they both opened their eyes. She looked at him silently allowing him to continue the kiss. Booth reached up and put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer for a deeper, more passionate kiss.

Booth was lost himself in the kiss, he momentarily forgot that he wasn't really together with Brennan, the flash of the camera jolted him back to reality and he ended the kiss.

When he pulled back, everyone at the table was cheering. He should have been feeling relieved that everyone believed the kiss was genuine and the case was going well, but wasn't thinking about the case. He was still shocked that he and Bones had kissed, and that it was good, he had definitely felt fireworks.

Booth couldn't look at Brennan for a few minutes, he desperately wanted to know if she had felt anything when he kissed her, or if she had just been acting, but the smarter more sensible part of him decided not to go there.

Eventually he had to look at her, and when he finally did she was talking to Iris about books. She was smiling but otherwise looked unaffected, she had merely been doing her job. Booth had his answer and he surprised that he felt disappointment. He should have been happy that nothing had changed between them and that their partnership was intact, but he wasn't.

While dessert was being laid out the band came on stage The band had a beautiful lead singer, who had a sultry voice. They were mostly playing well known love songs in honour of the holiday coming up.

Katie and Devon had already gone to dance. Booth was watching them on the dance floor slowly swaying to the music. They looked so happy with each other, so confident that they would be together forever.

While he was watching them Booth was wondering whether he would ever have that with someone. Brennan was watching Booth look at the them. From his expression she thought that he wanted to dance. She stood up and offered her hand to him.

"Would you like to dance?"

Although it was unexpected Booth flashed her a charm smile and rose.

"Love to, Bones."

He led her out onto the dance floor. He noticed many of other passengers seemed to be looking at him and Brennan in the same way that he had been looking at Devon and Katie. This made him smile in a such a way that Brennan tilted her head in confusion.

When they reached the centre of the dance floor he stopped and took her into his arms. He held her much closer than he normally would, but it seemed right to do so, after all they were here to put on a show. The band was playing a slow rendition of 'Killing me softly', the singer's voice suited the song.

Brennan and Booth swayed to the music. Her head rested on his shoulder. They both had their eyes closed listening to the music. After a few minutes Brennan pulled back to look at Booth. They stared at each other deeply for a time and then Brennan's eyes drifted to Booth's lips, and then back to his eyes. Booth took this as a request and then slowly leant in to kiss her. They never broke eye contact until their lips met.

The song ended and the band stopped for a break, but they didn't notice. When the kiss ended and they pulled back, they realised they were the only couple left on the dance floor and everyone was looking at them.

Booth was suddenly embarrassed and he flushed bright red. A round of applause broke out and Brennan nervously laughed but didn't seem bothered by the attention. They quickly made their way back to the table.

"I think we have the prize in the bag with that little display Bones." Booth was trying to make light of the situation. He wanted to make it sound like it was all part of the plan, but truthfully he hadn't been thinking about their assignment when he kissed her and it scared him.

Back at the table Devon was giving Booth a hard time about taking Brennan back to their room immediately.

Meanwhile Iris leant in close to Temperance and said, "I can see you're taking my advice about enjoying yourself dear." She had laughter in her eyes and she chuckled when she said this. "That was some display on the dance floor."

Brennan's first instinct was to defend herself and Booth by saying they were just partners but then she remembered that they were undercover,

"Well this is our honeymoon, and we do love each other very much."

It felt strange to her to be saying she and Booth were in love. Booth was her partner, he was her best friend, in the same way that Angela was. Booth had once told her, that to him, she was a guy, she understood what he meant, that's the same way she felt about him. Although she couldn't help thinking there had been a moment on the dance floor when she was lost in the music, and she forgot all about the assignment, and she was kissing Booth. Brennan resolved to keep her mind much more focused on the case from now on, and to stay away from any more champagne.

Even though it was still relatively early Devon and Katie decided to go back to their room. Booth had been planning to take Brennan and the other couple to a small jazz club, but now it was just going to be the two of them he thought it might not be wise to be alone with her near any alcohol or music.

Booth turned to Brennan and said, so the rest of the table could hear, "Babe I think we should be getting out of here too, you look ready for bed."

Brennan thought Booth was trying to mother her and responded sharply. "I'm not tired Booth."

"Good" Booth turned to the rest of the table and winked, then he smiled at Brennan suggestively. Brennan caught on to what Booth was doing and leaned forward and kissed him. "Yes, time for bed." Then she smiled at the others. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." They chorused, smirks on their faces.

They got up and headed back to their room. Their most recent kiss had been very different from the earlier ones. It had been all show and no emotion. It broke the tension between the couple, it was just like their usual banter and one-upmanship. Booth had issued a challenge and Brennan had responded by raising the stakes.

When they arrived back at their room they were still feeling the affects of the alcohol, Booth had his arm around Brennan's shoulders and they were once again comfortable in each other's company.

Once in the room they started getting ready for bed. Despite sharing nearly everything possible the two had not spent the night together before. They had always had separate hotel rooms when they were away on cases. Booth jumped into the bathroom first while Brennan turned down the bed. After a few minutes Brennan walked into the bathroom while Booth was brushing his teeth. He wordlessly handed her the toothpaste and she started brushing also. The two worked in symmetry as though they had shared a bathroom a million times before. Brennan started removing her make-up while Booth got changed. When he re-entered the bathroom Brennan had finished with her make up, and was struggling to remove the pins out of her hair.

"Ow, I don't understand how women can do this to themselves everyday, Ow, its like a form of torture, Ow." She was having trouble getting them out without pain so Booth moved in close behind her.

"Let me" He gently began removing the pins and putting them on the counter. When he was finished he ran his hands through her hair to smooth it. Brennan turned around to face Booth, her back against the sink.

"Thank you."

He continued to run his hands through her hair then he moved them to cup her face. They looked into each others eyes for a moment before Booth looked away and said,

"I think it's time for bed Bones." Booth then walked out of the bathroom before she had a chance to reply.

When she entered the bedroom Booth was collecting spare pillows and blankets from the wardrobe. "I'm going to sleep downstairs on the couch, goodnight Bones." He wouldn't even look at her as he hurried down the stairs.

Brennan sighed and then got into bed. The bed was enormous and she wouldn't have minded sharing.

Meanwhile downstairs Booth was thinking over what had happened since they had arrived on the ship. Seeing Brennan away from all the dead bodies and spending time with her alone made him think. He cared for her, more than that, he loved her.

She was the most beautiful woman in the world. Next to Parker she was the most important person to him. He would do anything for her, he would gladly die for her, he would even kill to keep her safe. Booth also knew that Brennan did not feel the same. She seemed totally oblivious to his feelings for her and the chemistry that they shared.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Bones, although I wouldn't mind writing for the show.

Chapter Five

The next morning Booth was woken by a loud knocking on the door. Booth groaned, and then got up to answer the door from the sofa, where he had been sleeping.

"It's way to early for visitors, don't they know this is the honeymoon suite."

Before he reached the door he heard a key card swipe and the door opened. In walked a waiter pushing a trolley with breakfast on.

"Good morning, I hope I didn't wake you." He was way to chipper for first thing in the morning.

"We didn't order any food, and keep it down my, ah, wife is still upstairs sleeping."

"No I'm not Booth." Brennan was walking down the stairs tying her robe as she descended.

"Did you order this Bones?"

"Breakfast in bed comes standard in the honeymoon suite. The guests in this room usually appreciate not having to get out of bed in time for breakfast in the main dining room."

"Well we would have appreciated more time in bed too."

Then the waiter noticed the rumpled blankets and pillows on the sofa. Booth saw him looking at the bedding and said, "My wife snores when she's had too much to drink."

"I DO NOT snore, Booth." Brennan looked like she was going to hurt him.

Booth and the waiter shared a look. "I was just kidding darling." Then he gave the waiter another look as if to say he really wasn't kidding.

The waiter laughed, "Well if there's nothing else you need, I'll go. Just leave the trolley outside your room when you're done. I'll see you both tomorrow morning."

With that he left, and Brennan and Booth sat down to eat.

"Ah, coffee." He lunged at it like a thirsty man in the desert.

"So what's on the agenda for today Bones?"

"Well I thought we should take a look around the ship and see if we can find anyone who might be a suspect. I should call Angela back at the lab to see if they have anything more for us to go on."

"Couldn't we look for suspects by the pool Bones. I mean, that's where everyone else is going to be. You could get some more done on your book while I keep a look out for the bad guys, and get some sun." Booth thought she'd give him a lecture about how they were here to work.

She surprised him. "Alright then Booth."

He must have looked shocked that she was agreeing because she continued.

"No you're right. If we have to be on this ship we may as well enjoy ourselves, try to blend in. It's most likely that if everyone is at the pool, then the killer may be there too, picking his next victims. Also, I really could use the time for my book, I seem to be having writer's brick."

He laughed, "Writer's block, Bones, not brick."

She mentally added the phrase to her memory as she set up her laptop to call Angela.

"Sweetie, oh my god, hey." Her friend was excited to hear from her. "How's it going."

"Well, we haven't seen anyone behaving suspicious, although we are keeping our eyes on some of the other couples who are likely targets."

"I didn't mean how's it going as serial killer bait, I meant how's it going in the honeymoon suite with your hunky FBI agent."

"Angela!" Brennan scolded her friend.

"Hey Ange." Booth stood behind Brennan so Angela could see he could hear everything she said.

"Hey Booth, could you back up a bit, Brennan's in the way of my view of your bare chest." She gave a cheeky grin.

"You better not let Hodgins hear you saying that." He returned her grin.

"Bones, you finished?" He indicated her plate. She handed it to him and he put it on the trolley. "I'm going to take this outside, then I'm going to grab a shower."

He was just making himself scarce so she could talk to Angela and Brennan knew it.

Angela tried to regain Brennan's attention. "So sweetie, tell me everything."

Brennan recounted to her friend everything that had happened since the day before, including their plan to win the contest, and the other couples who were likely targets, she omitted the kiss on the dance floor because she didn't want Angela to read too much into it. She finished by telling Angela about their idea to go to the pool and look for suspects there.

"Well I might be able to help with that. Zack and Cam have been going over the bones from the dead husbands and the autopsy reports from their wives and they have discovered the killer is approximately 6'3", and left handed. He must be pretty strong to because the husbands all seem to have been killed by a single blow to the head. I hope you're being careful on the ship, Bren."

"We are."

Booth was drying his hair with the towel as he walked back down the stairs from his shower.

"So do you have any ideas how you are going to win the best couple prize?" Angela changed topic. "I mean, you two are my favourite couple, but I'm not voting."

"Do you have any suggestions, Angela" Brennan thought that Angela may have some good ideas.

"Bren, do you remember that thing you did in college for my birthday?"

"Yes."

"Well, do that and you'll be fine." A huge grin spread over her face and she winked at Booth.

"OK sweeties, I gotta go, and remember, do everything that I would do, bye." With that she disconnected.

"So Bones, what was it you did in college?"

"Um, nothing Booth, Angela was only kidding."

"Come on, you have to tell me, I'm your partner Bones." Booth was pleading and using his charm smile.

"Maybe if we get desperate." She then headed upstairs to get ready.

A few hours later they were lying on sun lounge's by the pool. Brennan had filled Booth in on the information Angela had given her about the killer. Booth was keeping his eyes out for left-handed men, who were acting suspicious. Brennan was beside him tapping away on her laptop.

Whenever the waitress came past he got them drinks and every few hours he would apply sunscreen to her exposed skin. She barely noticed she was so totally focused on her writing.

When it was lunchtime Brennan closed her laptop and suggested they get changed and go get some lunch.

They were walking to the dining room after changing in their room when Both felt he needed to break their silence. He fell back on one topic he knew would cause a good natured fight.

"So in your new book Bones, what does my character do?"

"You don't have a character Booth, they are all fictional characters I made up, and you can read it when it comes out like everyone else." She continued walking without looking at him.

He grabbed her arm to stop her walking away, "So you're really not going to let me read this one before it comes out either?" He was using his puppy dog eyes.

"Not unless you join the staff at my publishers."

His shocked look made her laugh and then they kept walking.

They were almost at the entrance to the dining room when they caught up to Iris and her husband. Lenny had difficulty walking and Iris looked tired from supporting him, so Booth casually took his arm under the guise of striking up a conversation with Lenny. This left Brennan and Iris to walk in together.

"He really is quite charming, that man of yours. I might be old but I'm not senile yet, I know what he just did." Iris had a wise, but unflappable quality about her.

"Booth exhibits strong alpha-male tendencies which make him overly protective of those people around him who he sees as in his care."

"Temperance, do you always talk like that about him?"

"Like what?" She was confused. "He does exhibit alpha-male tendencies."

"All the good ones do, dear." She laughed at the young woman's confusion.

They were queued up in the buffet line waiting for their turn. Iris turned to Brennan and said.

"You know I was very much like you when I was younger. I had three older brothers and a father who thought women should be seen and not heard. I wanted to prove him wrong more than anything in the world, show him that a woman didn't need a man to survive, so I stayed up half the night studying and I was the first woman in my county to get accepted on a scholarship to university. All through school I never had friends, never went on dates, I never wanted to let anyone get close to me in case I ended up needing them. I spent every moment trying to fulfil my dream of going to college. Although I'm sure I would have had a wonderful time there, Temperance, there are more important things in life than work." Iris had filled her plate and was leaving to go back to their table.

"What do you mean 'would have had a wonderful time'?.

Iris stopped walking and turned back to Temperance, she laughed and her eyes went slightly teary. "I decided not to go." Then she turned and went back to the table.

Brennan was standing their with her plate looking pensive when Booth walked up behind her and wrapped his arm around her stomach. She stiffened and then relaxed when she remembered why they were here.

"What's wrong Bones?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about what someone just said to me."

"So are you going to tell me what it was you and Angela did in college?" He gave her a charm smile. He wasn't going to let it drop.

"No, are you going to tell me why you're grinning like that?"

"Well, seeing as how you asked nicely, I've been doing a little research on the other honeymooner's, and I think it's down to us and Devon and Katie. I was thinking if we told them about the killer they could fake a huge fight and that would leave us as the killers likely targets."

"So, you're happy because I might get my throat cut, and you might have your skull smashed in."

"Yep, because then we can nail him."

While they were eating lunch the captain stood up to make an announcement.

"I'm sorry folks, but I won't be here for dinner tonight. As you all know tomorrow is Valentine's Day and as captain of the ship I have six weddings to perform between now and midnight, so I'm going to be too busy." He laughed. "Not that I'm complaining, it's definitely one of the perks of my job to marry so many happy couples. Perhaps the couples would like to stand so we can all have a look at them."

Several people stood up all around the room. The captain and the passengers started applauding.

"Bones, what are we going to do now." Booth sounded dejected. "How's our psycho going to pick us out of this crowd."

"I don't know Booth." Brennan was slightly disheartened at the change of events.

Later, after lunch was over, they were back at the pool discussing the new problem.

"Well there's no way we can keep our eyes on all of those couples. We're going to have to tell everyone and hopefully that will scare the guy into leaving everyone alone." Booth was concerned for the safety of everyone on board more than catching the killer,

"Then we may never catch this guy, we can't wait another two years for him, Booth. Logically the best idea would be to do something to bring the attention back to us in hopes that he comes after us."

"How are we going to do that." After a moments thought he said, "You could announce that you're pregnant. People love honeymoon babies."

She sent him an icy glare. "You know how I feel about having children."

"I wasn't saying you actually had to be pregnant Bones, just say you are, who's going to know."

"I AM NOT saying I'm pregnant Booth." Brennan was agitated and yelled this at him. Several people near them turned to look at the source of the noise.

"Great, now we're the couple who are fighting. What are we going to do." Booth thought the situation couldn't get any worse. He had a serial killer loose on the ship and no way to stop him.

Brennan stood up. "Watch my stuff please. I'm going to fix this."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to take Angela's advice." Then she left the pool area and went inside.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. 

**Author's Notes:** For the record I hate song fics but his needed to be done.

That said, to really enjoy this chapter I recommend going to itunes and downloading 'When I fall in Love' by Celine Dion on the "colour of my Love' Album.

At this point I should thank my mum who's CD collection I raided after going through everything I owned. This is the closest song I could find to Brennan's voice, I spent ages on it.

This is especially for Megan242 - I hope you like.

Chapter Six

Brennan returned to the pool 3 hours later and steadfastly refused to discuss with Booth where she had been.

"Come on Bones, I'm supposed to be your partner." He'd been pleading with her to tell him what was going on for ten minutes now.

"Then you should trust me. You'll find out after dinner like everyone else."

"So this is like your book you won't let me read. You know Bones, I'm beginning to think you don't value my opinion." He put on his mock-hurt expression.

"It's not that Booth, it's just that, I'd rather not make a big deal out of it. I'd like it to be a surprise."

"Hello dears, would you mind some company?" Iris inquired.

"Of course not, here take my seat." Booth stood up to allow Iris to sit. "Bones, I'm going to go check in with Cullen." With that Booth left.

"I'm sorry Temperance, I didn't mean to chase him off."

"Oh no, it's fine. Actually I wanted to ask you something, what made you decide not to go to university?"

"Yes, I can see why you would ask that. It's simple Temperance, I decided to stop hiding and let someone in." Iris could see her answer wasn't enough for Temperance so she continued.

"In the summer before I was to go off to college I got a job at the local grocery store, that's where I met Lenny. He was the son of the owner and he stocked shelves while I worked at the check out. At first we were workmates, then we became friends. Finally the week before I was supposed to leave for college Lenny told me he loved me."

"What happened?"

"I decided not to go, I told you, Lenny and I got married and now we are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. I gave up everything I had ever wanted, to be with him, and in doing so I proved my father right, I did need a man. That was hard for me, but I got over it."

"Did you ever regret it? Did you consider what would have happened if you had given up your dream and things hadn't worked out between the two of you?"

"I never regretted it, not once. Lenny and I were already best friends, I thought the possibility of having something more with him was worth the risk. We loved each other, much like yourself and Mr Booth. I know what you are going through Temperance. Letting someone in is scary, no-one knows that better than me, but 50 years from now you can be happy with your man, or you can be alone with your bones. I think you should give your relationship a real chance Temperance before something happens and you loose him. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I'd gone away to university. Sometimes you just have to take a chance on love."

"I don't know what you mean, I am giving our relationship a chance, we just got married."

"We both know that isn't true dear. I told you before I may be old but I can still spot a lie."

"You knew we weren't married. When did you find out?"

"I've known all along. I have been trying to figure out why the two of you would go to such lengths. Obviously it's something to do with your work, you wouldn't do this for any other reason."

When she saw Brennan's horrified expression she added, "Don't worry dear, your secrets safe with me. I haven't even told Larry. I think I've had enough sun for today, Larry should be waking up from his nap soon.

She started to gather her things to leave. "Remember Temperance, he may leave you, yes, but the hurt you would feel then, would be nothing to the joy you could be feeling now. It was nice talking to you." She then left Brennan alone to think about what she had said.

After a while Brennan returned to their room where Booth was almost ready for dinner. She had decided not to tell him that Iris knew about them.

"You better hurry up Bones, dinner is in five minutes and I'm starving."

"Go on ahead Booth, I have a headache and I still need to get ready. I'll meet you there later."

"You sure Bones?"

"Yes, I think I'd like to take a bath."

"OK then, and Bones, be careful, there's a killer running around."

Booth left and Brennan slumped onto the sofa. She sighed deeply then got up to get ready.

At dinner Booth explained Brennan's absence by saying that she had spent to long at the pool and was joining them later when she was ready. Katie in particular seemed to be disappointed Brennan wasn't there, she wanted to tell her all about what she and Devon had done that day, and to ask her to go shopping the next day.

Most people had finished their main course when a staff member got up onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentleman, For our entertainment this evening we will be enjoying the musical talents of Jeff Patterson on the piano. He is visiting us from our Moonlight Lounge up on the Dolphin Deck, where you can see him every night."

The lights were dimmed and a disco ball was turned on which cast thousands of little white lights around the whole room that swirled in a circular pattern. Then a spotlight was put on a handsome man with dark skin and greying temples sitting at a grand piano, to the left of the stage.

"The first song I'd like to play tonight is called 'When I fall in love', and a special lady asked me earlier to dedicate it to her husband on their one week wedding anniversary, this is for, Seeley Booth, you're a lucky man."

A smattering of light applause sounded. Booth couldn't believe Brennan had dedicated a song for him and she wasn't even here to dance with him.

With that Jeff started playing. There were a few other musicians on the other end of the stage playing wood instruments under their own spot light. The moving white lights danced across the grand piano.

Jeff: _When I fall in love _

_ It will be forever _

_ Or I'll never fall in love _

_ In a restless world like this is _

_ Love is ended before it's began _

_ And too many moonlight kisses _

_ Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun_

Then a spotlight went on in the middle of the stage. Brennan was standing there in a floor length black sequined dress. Her hair was curled into ringlets and her eyes were dark and smoky. She looked breathtaking. She closed her eyes, then opened them, and began to sing.

Brennan: _When I give my heart _

_ It will be completely _

_ Or I'll never give my heart_

Booth nearly fell off his chair he was so surprised. She sounded as good, if not better, than Angela had described.

Jeff: _Oh, let me give my heart_

Brennan: _And the moment I can feel that _

_ You feel that way too_

Jeff: _I'll feel that way too_

Brennan: _Is when I'll fall in love with you_

Jeff: _I'll fall in love_

Both: _With you_

She was starting to get into the song now and was enjoying herself. She smiled and seemed more confident on the stage. It made her whole face light up.

Both: _When I fall in love_

_It will be forever_

_Or I'll never fall_

Brennan: _In love_

Jeff: _Oh, I'll never, never fall in love_

Both: _In a restless world _

_ Like this is _

_ Love is ended before it's began _

_ And too many moonlight kisses _

_ Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun_

Brennan left the stage and walked out into the crowd to sing to Booth from the centre of the dance floor.

Both: _When I give my heart It will be completely_

Brennan: _Or I'll never give_

Jeff: _I'll never give_

Brennan: _My heart_

Jeff: _Oh, I'll never give my heart_

Both: _And the moment I can feel that _

_ You feel that way too_

Jeff: _Is when I fall in love_

Brennan: _When in fall in love_

Both: _When in love _

_ With you_

Tumultuous applause broke out and Jeff rose from his seat and Brennan returned the stage where they met.

Jeff bowed and then indicated to Brennan who also bowed. She was laughing and looked comfortable on the stage.

When Jeff went back to his piano to continue his performance Brennan walked off the stage and across the dance floor back to her table. Along the way other passengers congratulated her and told her she sang beautifully. Booth saw her coming and went to meet her.

A lot of people were telling him how lucky he was.

"Don't I know it." He thought to himself.

When he reached her he didn't know what to say.

"The was incredible Temperance." He seldom used her first name, he liked to save it for special occasions, and this was definitely one.

"Well you said we needed to do something to draw attention to ourselves." She had a teasing smile on her face Booth couldn't resist.

"That I did." He smiled with her. They were still standing in the middle of the tables just staring at each other. "You know Bones, if we were really married and you did that, I would have to do this."

He grabbed her and pulled her towards him. Then he kissed her for the rest of the song and much of the next. He only stopped because they were out of breath.

Booth knew now that any thoughts he had that he and Brennan were just partners were long gone. He had to have her, he'd walk through fire if he had to but he was going to tell her how he felt, and if she didn't think a relationship between the two of them was a good idea then he would just have to convince her.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. 

Chapter Seven

Booth led Brennan back to their table where everyone congratulated her enthusiastically. While they laughed and talked Booth fed her a piece of chocolate cake with his fork.

"So Bones, is that what you did for Angela's birthday in college?" His tone was jovial.

She turned to face him and seemed to think about her answer before replying, "Not exactly, I took the idea but changed the song. I thought this song was more appropriate."

He smiled at her and then looked down at his empty plate. "Well, you looked incredibly beautiful up there"

"Thank you" She smiled nervously and then looked away.

"So Bones, why don't you sing more. I mean we spend all this time together and that's the first time I've heard you."

"I sing all the time at home. It just isn't appropriate to sing while I'm examining remains"

Booth laughed at Brennan's answer, her tone suggested she had seriously thought Booth had been expecting her to sing at crime scenes. "What did you sing for Angela"

Brennan blushed and changed the subject, clearly Booth had gotten too personal. "Do you think what I did will help us tomorrow when everyone is voting"

Booth knew Brennan was looking for praise and reassurance. "Absolutely Bones"

Brennan and Booth smiled at each other until she began to feel uncomfortable and looked away.

Dinner continued on for some time before Devon finally suggested they head off to one of the bars on board. Iris and Lenny had long since retired to bed and the other couple at their table pretty much kept to themselves, so it was just the four of them.

When they arrived at the sugar lounge they found a table in the corner and ordered drinks. The men were drinking beer but Katie convinced Brennan to try out some of the cocktails on the menu. The band in the bar were playing mostly Jazz music, which Brennan was a fan of.

While at the bar Booth kept shooting Brennan furtive glances and she smiled in return. The alcohol was clearly loosening them up.

Several cocktails later, a group come in that Booth recognised. He had spoken to them a few times while he had been trying to charm votes out of them. The three of them came and joined them at their table to tell Brennan what a great voice she had.

A few more drinks later they convinced her to sing an encore. Brennan got up on stage and sung a few slow, sexier numbers with the band. At the end of each song everyone would applaud and ask her to keep singing. She was feeling quite flattered by all the attention.

The party had continued well into the night before Brennan finally stopped singing and told everyone she was tired and going to retire for the night. Booth rose immediately to accompany her, of course, not only was she his 'wife', but there was a serial killer on the ship who was most likely going to try and kill her.

Both of them had been in a really good mood all night. They had also had more alcohol than they really should have. They stumbled into their room and Booth started to make coffee while Brennan kicked off her shoes and started removing her jewellery.

Booth turned to look at Brennan while the water boiled. She was facing away from him and swaying to some imaginary music while she removed her earrings. She twirled and caught him looking at her. She instantly realised she had been humming while she danced and blushed.

"Bones." Booth's tone turned serious. "Temperance, please sit down."

Brennan was concerned by Booth's sudden change of tone, and his use of her first name.

"What's going on Booth"

"I just want to talk to you about something, and it's important, so I want to know I have your full attention."

"OK." Brennan walked over and sat on the sofa. Booth knelt in front of her on the floor.

Booth took a deep breath and then said, "Temperance I wanted to talk to you about us."

"Us?" Whatever Brennan had been expecting it hadn't been that.

"Yes, us." Booth had committed himself now and was using his 'determined' tone.

"Bones, from this moment on one of two things can happen between us." He counted them off on his fingers. "One, we can acknowledge that we are more than just partners and friends, and try having a relationship, or two, you can stick your head in the sand and we can go on pretending. Personally I'm for the first option, I'm sick and tired of correcting people when they mistake us for a couple every time we go anywhere, but I guess it's down to what you want."

While he was saying this his eyes never left hers. His tone was completely serious but he did try to lighten up the situation with the joke at the end. He knew she was almost certainly going to freeze up and withdraw from him.

Booth also knew that he had been right to force the issue. If she said no he wasn't going to make light of the conversation and pretend it had been a drunken joke to cover the awkwardness tomorrow. He wanted her to know how he felt, he needed to know how she felt.

Brennan's face went from mild surprise to coolly professional in a heartbeat. She couldn't and wouldn't allow herself to start a relationship with Booth, yet.

Deep down she knew she loved him, she wasn't stupid, but she didn't have many friends and she couldn't bare to loose Booth. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of what would happen when they broke up, or even how they would deal with working together while in a relationship, what she was most afraid of was getting together with Booth and having the relationship go well.

Brennan had known they had steadily grown closer over the years, she knew this day was coming, but she had hoped Booth would be patient for a little while longer. She had been improving, she had been making a conscience effort to ready herself for a relationship, Sully had been good practice, but she wasn't there yet. Brennan knew if she started a relationship now she would only end up sabotaging it. She desperately wanted to stay friends with Booth until she was ready for a relationship, but obviously her time was up for playing dumb and now he had forced her into this position.

"Booth, I am really sorry if I gave you the impression over the last few days that I cared for you romantically and wanted a relationship, but I don't, I'm sorry."

She almost couldn't look at him, but he was holding her face, forcing her to. If she was going to lie he was going to make damn sure she would look him in the eyes. Her tone had been completely professional, cool even, but he had noticed a hint of fear and regret.

Booth stood and placed his hands on his hips.

"Don't what, don't care for me, or don't want a relationship with me?" He didn't sound angry exactly, more like he was asking her to clarify a scientific term he didn't understand.

She was beginning to get upset now, tears were welling in her eyes. She looked around at everything except Booth looking for an escape.

She felt so small sitting with him standing over her so she stood. She wanted to get away from him before the tears fell. "Booth, I like what we have now, a relationship would change everything."

Too late, the tears had started to fall, she was loosing her professional composure.

Booth thought she looked like a scared little girl.

"Yes a relationship would change everything Temperance, that's my point."

She backed away from him, she reached the stairs and started to ascend them. Halfway up she stopped and looked at him. His face was in his hands, and he looked more tired and defeated than she had ever seen him.

"I think you should sleep with me tonight. If that waiter comes back early tomorrow he shouldn't catch you sleeping on the couch two days in a row, we are on our honeymoon."

Then she turned and continued up the stairs, silent tears dripping down her face.

Brennan washed up and then climbed into bed. She lay awake for at least an hour, despite being exhausted, thinking about when, and if, she would ever be ready for a real relationship, eventually sleep claimed her. She never heard Booth come upstairs.

Meanwhile downstairs Booth was lying on his back on the sofa. It was almost dark, just one lamp on, but he was thinking, and he did his best thinking in the dark.

He had known this wouldn't be as easy as him telling her he loved her, and her falling into his arms and telling him she felt the same. He knew her far to well for that, he had expected analytical Bones to come out, and she had, but it still hurt.

She didn't say she didn't love him, he rationalised, only that she wasn't ready for a relationship. That was good news. On the other hand he could be an old man before she was ready for a relationship. She had needed this push, and he didn't regret it, but he would have to wait until the cold light of day tomorrow to figure out what all this means.

As the light went out upstairs Booth lay on the couch and formulated a plan. The whole time he had known Brennan their relationship had always worked the same, he had gently pushed, and if he got it right, she would give an inch. He liked to think of it as breaking down her barriers a little at a time.

His plan was to tread very carefully over the next few days, and if he didn't screw up, maybe they could have a real dinner together on this ship, without the pretending, before they had to go back to DC.

After enough time had passed for her to fall asleep Booth crept silently upstairs. Brennan was asleep on the far side of the bed curled up into a ball, her hair splayed out across the pillow. Booth changed and slipped into bed beside her. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling, and then he smiled, he was enjoying this moment being so close to her, after all he didn't often get to see a silent Bones, she was usually arguing with him, and she couldn't kick his ass in the morning because she had told him to sleep upstairs. He chuckled to himself and then fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning after the night before. 

Booth woke to the sound of knocking. At first he was disorientated and not sure where he was, then he realised it was breakfast being delivered.

As everything came back to him from the night before he groaned. He quickly got out of bed and put on his robe and at the same time he noticed that Brennan's side of the bed was empty and the water was running in the bathroom.

The waiter was waiting just inside the door for instructions on where the couple would like their breakfast served.

Booth was walking down the stairs as he said, "You can just leave the trolley there. I'm just going to take a tray upstairs to his wife. She's still in bed sleeping." He smirked at the guy and gave him a wink. Booth didn't want to give the waiter the impression the couple were having relationship trouble two days in a row as he knew how staff could gossip.

Before the waiter could leave Booth was interrupted while setting up a tray.

Brennan, who had just got out of the shower, leaned over the balcony and called out from upstairs. "I am awake Booth, and I'll have breakfast at the table." Then she briefly disappeared to get her robe before joining them downstairs.

Booth, meanwhile, tried to cover for Brennan's abrupt tone and shrugged at the waiter as if to say if his lady wants to eat downstairs they will be eating downstairs. The waiter thought the man must have done something wrong for the woman to sound so mad and for him to look so guilty so he quickly set two place settings and laid the food out.

"I'll leave you to it. Have a pleasant meal." The waiter used a cheerful tone but it was obvious to Booth that he could sense the frosty atmosphere and wanted to get out of the room as fast as possible.

As soon as he left Booth turned to Brennan who had joined him at the table. "What did you have to do that for, now he's going to run off and tell all the staff the couple in the honeymoon suite are fighting again."

Brennan was reaching for a piece of toast when she stopped a little shocked at Booth's angry tone. "What do you mean fighting, I just corrected you because I was awake and not still in bed."

"I was aware of that, seeing as how I woke up alone in bed, but he didn't, and I was trying to make it look like I was doing something romantic for my wife, who should still be tired seeing that we are on our honeymoon. Remember that was the point of me sleeping upstairs last night, so that he could see us in bed together and not fighting." Booth was almost yelling by the end of this but then he paused and visibly pulled himself together before continuing much more calmly. "Listen, we just have to keep up the pretence that we are a happily married couple for one more day and then we can go back to the way things were."

Brennan could see that Booth was extending an olive branch so she responded politely. "I'm sorry Booth, I wasn't thinking." Brennan seemed genuinely sorry. "And about last night..."

Booth cut her off before she could continue, "It's fine Bones, lets just get through this case and we'll worry about us back in DC." Booths tone was abrupt once more, and he was adopting a professional manner to disguise his hurt. He didn't want to hear Brennan reject him or pretend there was nothing going on with them again.

A silent truce had been reached between them. They were fine together for the moment, but for the rest of this assignment they would be polite and professional with one another while keeping a physical distance and they would worry about anything of a personal nature after the case was over.

They ate in silence for several minutes then Booth turned to Brennan and asked what she planned to do with her day. There was no hint of love and friendship in his tone, he was merely a colleague making a polite enquiry.

Brennan noted the tone and also that the question confirmed her suspicion that she would be spending her day alone. "I was going to try and get some more done on my book but I think I am just to tired so I thought I would just go lay by the pool." She didn't need to add that the reason she was so tired is that she lay awake thinking after Booth's speech the night before.

A day spent laying by the pool doing nothing was uncharacteristic for Brennan but Booth didn't comment on it. Instead he said, "OK Bones, just remember to put sunscreen on every few hours. We don't want you turning into a Lobster." Booth laughed at his own joke.

Booth had decided Brennan had been punished enough by his bad mood this morning and wanted them to separate for the day on a more relaxed note. Hence his bad joke which he made in an attempt at a return to their normal jokey friendship.

"I'm going to catch a game I missed in the sports bar and then I need to update Cullen on everything that has been happening." Booth stood up to clear their plates and take the trolley outside. Meanwhile Brennan went upstairs to dress for the day.

Went Booth went upstairs a little while later Brennan was dressed and she was just throwing some things into a bag to take with her to the pool. "I'll see you later Booth. I thought I might have lunch by the pool today but I'll see you back here before dinner to change."

"Yeah, see you then Bones." Then Booth went into the bathroom to take a shower.

A little later Booth came back into the bedroom and Brennan was gone. He picked up a pillow off the bed and thumped it hard. He had to admit he was angry. He was angry at Brennan for denying there was something between them, but mostly he was angry at himself. He had known before he spoke to her how Brennan would react so why did he take his anger out on her this morning.

Booth to was tired from the night before and from being woken up so suddenly so he flopped back down on the bed for a few more hours sleep. The game wasn't on untill lunchtime and he could check in with Cullen whenever, it wasn't like Booth had anything concrete to tell Cullen about the case, and telling him they were 'making progress' was starting to sound fake even to Booth.

Meanwhile, at the pool Brennan was making an attempt to read some silly crime novel her editor had told her to read for some inspiration. The body recovery procedures were completely inaccurate so Brennan soon cast it aside. A crew member made sure she always had one of those silly colourful drinks in a coconut beside her and that she had sunscreen on. Then after she finished a lovely salad at the pool restaurant she returned to her sun lounger and she closed her eyes and let the warmth of the sun put her to sleep.

A couple of hours later Booth was in the sports bar having a couple of drinks with some guys he had just met. He was having a good time. Booth had tried to call Cullen earlier but when he spoke to him Cullen sounded odd and he just told Booth that he would call him back later as there had been 'developments' on the case. In the meantime he and Brennan were just to continue doing what they had been. Booth tried not to let his Boss' strange behaviour get to him.

Brennan woke from her nap by the pool to the lovely feeling of the sun on her face. Her skin felt a bit warm and she suspected if she were to look in the mirror she would be bright red. She rolled over to her side to reach for her drink and saw Devon and Katie kissing on a single sun lounger on the other side of the pool. Not wanting to look at the obvious display of affection Brennan rolled onto her other side and instead saw Lenny and Iris sitting on stools at the pool bar. In a few days Brennan had come to be very fond of the older woman. She seemed to see so much of herself in her that Brennan instinctively trusted the woman. Brennan sipped her drink as she watched them.

Iris was fussing over Lenny, checking his sunscreen was blended and that his hat was shading his face. They looked so happy and Brennan thought back to what Iris had told her the other day. Maybe love was worth it. Maybe people can be happy together forever.

These thoughts made her think of Booth and everything he had said the night before. It was true that Brennan did have a bad history with relationships but maybe that wasn't all her fault, maybe they were just the wrong guys so it was doomed long before she sabotaged the relationships by becoming distant.

And really, when she thought about it, Booth knew her better than any other person, better even than Angela, surely he knew what she was like, and yet he was still willing to risk their partnership and friendship on a relationship. Brennan found herself trying to rationalise how a relationship with Booth could be a good thing. Booth would have thought this was progress but Brennan just found it oddly disturbing. She was definately changing. She certainly wasn't the same woman she was when she was going out with Pete, or even Sully.

Brennan thought hard on the topic for what seemed like hours, every now and then she would sneak another look at Lenny and Iris sitting happily together. Finally Brennan reached the conclusion that maybe she was ready for a relationship, albeit one that progressed very slowly, after all.

However Brennan was unwilling to lose the uneasy peace that the two had made that morning, especially while they were on a case, so Brennan decided not to talk to Booth. She thought that it would be best to adopt a wait and see approach, if anything happened between her and Booth naturally she would go with it but she wouldn't rush things.

About half an hour before dinner the two independently realised it was time to head back to their room to change. Booth still hadn't heard from Cullen and was starting to get a little worried, but he knew his boss would contact him as soon as he could if anything important was happening. Brennan was walking with a new spring in her step, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she felt like she had finally found the answer to a puzzle she had been trying to solve for a while now but just hadn't realised.


End file.
